I was lucky enough to be invited by some Norwegian friends to join in a moose hunt last weekend.
My Norwegian storvildt[big game] hunting licence was renewed over the internet.It arrived in 3 days!
I flew with SAS direct from Dublin to Oslo.As usual people fainted and sought cover when I was asked to show the serial number of my rifle at check-in.This is wild,middle of an airport,no private room !
Arriving in Norway with a rifle was painless,no hassle and wishes of good luck from the Customs.
A 3 hour bus journey had me up in Trysil where I met my friends and we headed for the woods.
Saturday morning after some strong coffee to clear the effects of Jameson,Linea and Gammel Opland we ventured out in the dawn to look for signs of where the moose had crossed forest tracks during the night.
Some tracks were seen and a plan was drawn up,more coffee.
The rifles were positioned at various points around a large block and Roger the doghandler stated off with his Jamthund.
The method of tracking the dog has improved tremendously.The dog basically carries a form of mobile phone which is tracked by satellite.This is displayed on Rogers phone showing the ground contours,direction,distance,speed of dog.It costs a mere 20,000kronor for the software,Yech!
This information can be communicated to the rifles at their posts although when you hear the dog you know something is happening.
A male calf was shot in the first drive early on and we gathered to see the beast.
The beast was field dressed and loaded onto a trailer towed by a Polaris 6 wheeler and extracted back to be skinned. Some job but many hands made light work.
The second drive of the day was not without excitement.A moose was coming up to the line of guns but a shifting wind caused it to turn twice and it eventually slipped through unseen but not unheard.
We had a long drive on Sunday,6 hours.My moment came after 3 hours when I heard the dog barking.It had been pointed out to me where the moose usually moved at my post.
I heard a branch break ! Safety off and my heart beat went off the scale! Unfortunately the moose broke cover through some brush and all I could do was track it through the brush.There was a clear shot for a second but then it was obscured by trees and after that it was gone.My knees were like jelly,I kid you not.
The moose stopped some 300 yards away and the dog remained barking at it.I was waiting for a shot but Eric,who pulled the straw,couldnt get close enough before it moved off and eventually moved off the land to another area.
The excitement of the weekend was heightened by Ola informing me that there were brown bears and wolves in the area.Brilliant,I looked longingly at my friends 9,3s,30-06s and 375 and back to my pipsqueak 6,5x55.
Regrettfully I had to fly back Monday leaving my friends to hunt on.
Here is a line up of some of the fine rifles used.A nice collection I think you will agree.
I am looking forward to the next trip already.

quote:

The method of tracking the dog has improved tremendously.The dog basically carries a form of mobile phone which is tracked by satellite.This is displayed on Rogers phone showing the ground contours,direction,distance,speed of dog.It costs a mere 20,000kronor for the software,Yech!
This information can be communicated to the rifles

Great story mate!

Sounds like you had a good trip out there and I agree that their rifles were jealousy inducing!

they seem to like their stuzens, i've always thought fullstock rifles come in for a perhaps unfair amount of flack in the UK, it's good to see that out there in the cold and wet they are used.

Regards,

Amir

Sika, a great story and kick ass pictures as my younger brother would have said,

I prefer too call them super, any way that bull moose that was shoot is a yearling not a calf. As calfs moose will not grow antlers until after there first winter, ie as a yearling.

Besides that, wow, I can even sitting here in the office smell the smells you did over there, the work that goes in to draging those beasts out of the woods, the clean crisp high air, the sound of the dog in the distance, the crackle of the fire.

As a side note, OP or Aquavit, are acqiured tastes and should not be consumed by no man unless he accepts a slight tendernes to the head the next day,

Best regards Chris

Sika, sounds like a great way to spend a weekend.

Nice line up of tasty rifles.

I have an itch for a stutzen that I really need to scratch.

What is the sidelock double??

quote:

What is the sidelock double??

Same question here!!

I think the one on the left is a Chapuis but I was also looking at the sidelock/sideplate.

Thanks for the writeup. Everyone I ever speak to about this type of shooting falls in love with it!!

Rgds,
FB

hope you had a nice trip to our little country...

i'm very curious about rifle number 1 and 4 from the right...
know anything about them(cartridge, producer etc.)?

whatever the natives tell you, the 6.5x55 has worked for 114 years...
and it will probably kill Scandinavian game for another 114 years, 0.5 or 3 inch teeths...
its alot like Africa and .375, some says its not enough, but a lot says its will kill if you do your job.

good luck!

Sika,

Waidmannsheil!

Great Moose story and a coupla good photos; sounds like you guys had a great time.

Keep up the good work.

Great to hear that enjoyed our moose hunting! Thanks for sharing a nice story with us..

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Steffen-9.3:
hope you had a nice trip to our little country...

i'm very curious about rifle number 1 and 4 from the right...
know anything about them(cartridge, producer etc.)?
Rifle No1 is a Cogswell&Harrison 375 H&H,No 4 is a custom rifle built by one of the mens son who is a gunsmith in S.Sweden so I suppose it is a Nyhuus 30.06
The double rifles,the boxlock is from Suhl 9,3x72r, the sidelock,not a Chapuis,I forget,but in 9,3X74R.
I just got these this evening.This is the one that slipped past us to be photographed by Anders wife about 3 kms away.
She said it seemed to be a bit out of breath!